The NMCA is proud to announce the inaugural Unlimited Shootout Invitational, sponsored by Paschal Performance, to be held during the NMCA and NMRA-sanctioned Nitto Tire Lone Star Shootout held at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, TX (just outside of Houston). The event takes place November 9-11, 2012. The Unlimited Shootout Invitational brings out the real muscle cars of Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week for an 8-car heads-up race.

The time trials and road torture are over—it is time to go drag racing in full-size, full-weight street cars that are 6-second and 200 mph capable. These are not Pro Mods but real muscle cars with 2000-hp attitudes and driven down your street. The street moniker has been proven by Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week, which consists of over 1,500 miles through 5 states/tracks in 5-days.

A group of 7 Drag Week competitors have been selected to participate in the Paschal Performance Shootout with the 8^th and final member of the invitational coming out of the True Street ranks. That’s right, the overall winner of the no-holds-barred True Street race on Saturday will be inserted into the ladder based on his or her True Street average.

For those who are not familiar with True Street it is a category that is run at every NMCA-Flowmaster and NMRA-Keystone national event. It is open to any vehicle and has a limited set of rules. The participants complete a 30-mile cruise and then three consecutive runs are made after a brief cool down. The twist is that once the cruise starts you are not allowed to add more fuel or pop the hood.

The True Street race at the Lone Star Shootout is a little bit different in that it has no rules, literally. So Larry Larson and Jeff Lutz could be lining up against a Pro Mod, if that car were to survive—and win—the True Street challenge on Saturday. The 7 Drag Week superstars will lead the 30-mile cruise on the streets of Baytown but will not perform the three consecutive runs with the True Street racers. Instead, the group of 7 will ready their vehicles for qualifying runs in order to set a ladder for Sunday’s eliminations.

“People wanted to see Jeff and I line-up at Drag Week on the last day but we both kept running in the left lane. This shootout will give us a chance to finally race side-by-side along with some other real nice cars,” says Larry Larson, five-time Drag Week champion and confirmed entry in the Paschal Performance Unlimited Shootout Invitational. Also confirmed are Jeff Lutz and his runner-up 1957 Chevy. “The fans wanted to see us run side-by-side at Drag Week but it didn’t work out. Larry and I have been talking for years about doing this, running each other heads-up and we will finally have that chance at Houston,” explains Lutz.

Larson beat Lutz on this year’s Drag Week by a mere .011 seconds; Larson had a 7.081 average while Lutz finished with a 7.092 weekly average. The defending Drag Week legend has the final words that sums up the Unlimited Shootout Invitational, “this is going to be fun and fast.” The 8-car field will be running for prize money and the chance at winning a NHRA Wally.